As we quickly descended over Kauai for a swift landing, we were more than ready to embark upon the greatest tropical adventure we'd ever experienced. After spending the last 10 hours packed tightly in that extremely small area which airlines insist on calling a "seat," I was ready to experience things that were new, inspiring and different from my usual routine. This was going to be a trip of a lifetime and that made every minute crammed aboard the plane worth it. We were gearing up to explore Hawaii, but not the Hawaii most people think of, with endless resorts as far as the eye can see and thousands of tourists packed along the beachfronts. No, I'm talking about the real Hawaii where thick jungles canopy over tight, winding trails, waterfalls gush over mountain ledges and enormous mountaintops disappear in gray, hazy clouds . oating over lush green . elds. That's the real Hawaii, and we couldn't wait to get mounted up and begin exploring one of the most breathtaking places on Earth.
Once we arrived we had two objectives to knock out. The . rst was to get Adam Campbell, our photographer, a bowl of poke (pronounced poe-key), which is raw cubed cuts of fresh tuna, marinated in a tasty sauce and mixed with chopped onions. Adam somehow convinced me into sampling it as well. After all, I did want to try new things on this trip and eating raw . sh wasn't part of my usual diet. If you ever dare to try it for yourself, you can easily . nd it in just about any supermarket in Hawaii, as it's a favorite among locals. I have to say, the marinade was quite delectable, but it was a little dif. cult for me to get past the . eshy consistency of the, gulp, uncooked . sh. Maybe 10 minutes on the grill, and I would've been a happy camper. Adam, on the other hand, downed it like a ferocious hungry shark that hadn't eaten for days (it was kind of brutal to watch, actually). Now that our bellies were full of raw . esh, it was time to hook up with our new bud, Antone Teves, the owner of Kipu Ranch Adventures. Antone was kind enough to loan us a couple of his rental machines for a week, so that we could explore the Princeville Ranch owned by Karin Guest and her family for a couple of days before hooking back up for our much-anticipated ATV tour at Kipu Ranch Adventures.
We were for sure anxious to get these machines rolling so our adventure through the mysterious natural lands of Kauai could begin. The sun was out, the air was fresh and we were all in high spirits. But before we could get started, we needed to . nd shelter. From a previous visit made to Kauai, Adam knew of a handful of beautiful cottages with extraordinary views of massive mountains, a gold-colored beachfront and lush, green landscapes that are littered with palm and various fruit trees. It's a little tropical paradise and I fully expected to hear Tattoo scream out "de plane, de plane" when we arrived. These cottage rentals were located just off the North Shore in a town called Hanalei, which is probably one of the coolest small beach towns that I've ever visited in my life. In fact, it's so remote that you'll have to cross over a one-lane bridge just to get to it. Now that's what I'm talking about.